We live in an era in which increasingly, leaders who are authentic, and who translate this into shared value for their people, whether shareholders or stakeholders, employees, customers or constituents, are the ones who have true and lasting impact - ultimately making the world a better place to live in. [...]

Important to build a culture where people free comfortable telling you they think you're on the wrong path. The best followers will feel free to voice their opinions, but move on and back you 200% once you've made the call.

They surround themselves with advisors who can tell them why they are wrong.

When you hold a certain belief or unconsciously decide on something, you’ll have a tendency to focus on and favor information that supports your belief or decision, discarding anything that contradicts it. You do it without even realizing it. Psychologists call this confirmation bias.

As co-founder of Hotwire.com and CEO of Zillow for the last seven years, 39-year-old Spencer Rascoff fits most people’s definition of success. As a father of three young children, Spencer is a busy guy at home and at work. What’s the one thing that Spencer refuses to do on the weekend? [...]

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

Weekends (or any breaks from the action) are meant to be different. Put that Blackberry down (ok, I'm getting better), pursue a passion, and by all means...unplug!!

Research-based ways to make your employees happier; and in the process, develop high-performing teams.

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

It's pretty simple, actually: Care for, be interested in, and maintain responsibility for colleagues as friends. Provide support for one another, including offering kindness and compassion when others are struggling. Avoid blame and forgive mistakes. Inspire one another at work, emphasizing the meaningfulness of the work. Treat one another with respect, gratitude, trust & integrity.

These three simple steps will help you create a compelling pitch in a short amount of time.

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

At some point in every professional life, we're all on the "hot seat" to sell something...sometimes, it's ourselves or even our dreams. The person on the listening-end doesn't want 100 pages of analysis or heaven forbid a 72-slide PowerPoint deck. That level of detail comes later, but first...

Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally has created a new, team-based model for business leadership that offers a powerful — and less destructive — alternative to methods of Jack Welch.

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

Mulally is a great example of positive leadership: Instead of dividing his employees into winners and losers as Welch advocated, Mulally sought to inspire them all and rally them to his cause. His first order of business was to establish the ground rules that senior leadership team would operate under. Those included “people first,” and “respect, listen, help and appreciate each other."

Invest your time like you do your money. We're over-scheduled, too tied to our email, and spend way too much time in meetings looking at PowerPoint slides. Get out more, schedule "white space" and walk-around time, and please, please take that vacation!!

The middle dartboard shows the meaning of “be more accurate than precise”. While every dart doesn’t land in the same place, they all land very close to the ideal outcome. In most cases, this represents a spectacular outcome.

I'm not sure about the "never satisfied" suggestion in this one. Occasionally it is permissible to stop, take a breath, and say "I did a good job with that." Sitting on one's laurels might not be a way to continue success, but what kind of life is it if you are always reaching for more?

When you’re nervous, how can you be yourself? How you can force yourself to relax? How can you try not to try? It makes no sense, but the paradox may be essential to civilization.

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

Our culture is very good at pushing people to work hard or acquire particular technical skills. But actual success requires the ability to transcend our training and relax completely into what we are doing.

Leadership applies to parenting too! Raising our children is perhaps the most important job we'll ever have. My kids aren't yet too cool to listen to me (well some days, anyway). #39 is one of my all time favs -- Everyone you meet can teach you something important. – view everyone you meet like you did your Kindergarten teacher and be open to learn from them!

We hold too many meetings and I'd estimate at least half aren't necessary!

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

“Let’s schedule a meeting” has become the universal default response to most issues. Not sure what to do on a project? Let’s schedule a meeting. Have a few ideas to share? Let’s schedule a meeting. Struggling with taking action? Let’s schedule a meeting. Here's a simple tool to help cut down the time you spend unnecessarily...

Toxic people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact that they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons. Either way, they create unnecessary complexity, strife, and worst of all stress. Studies have long shown that stress [...]

The headlines scream about leadership failure after failure around the globe every day -- at the world's biggest companies, in government agencies, the military, et al. Leaders fail when they cannot connect with people.

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

The best way to become more resilient is to develop oneself into a calm, compassionate and adaptable, mindful leader. The focus on mindfulness in a leader sets a leader apart from traditional type-A thinking.

Decision speed -- being able to make informed decisions quickly, sometimes without the benefit of 100% of the data, is a critical leadership attribute. It takes both knowledge and courage. As the pace of the world increases, it's increasingly vital to success. Leaders must trust their abilities and ensure those around them have a solid understanding of their strategic intent. That means they need to be solid communicators, too.

Trust is such an important element in any organization, and it's absolutely key to high performing teams. As a person’s position power increases, their perceived trustworthiness can decrease. Counteract this view by really getting to know the people on your team, and letting them get to know you. This might involve chatting about how you share a hometown or like the same sports team. Do something that makes them believe that you are one of them and that signals that “even though you are the boss, in the end you’re all in this together.” Trust begets trust!

Listening is the most overlooked leadership skill out there. People in general do not know how to listen. They have ears that hear very well, but seldom have they acquired the necessary skills which would allow those ears to be used effectively for what is called listening.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending it with fellow board members of a non-profit that supports Navy SEALs through education and transition assistance. The purpose of the board meeting was to discuss the way ahead for the non-profit, but it turned into something more. With just four people discussing [...]

Kenneth Todorov's insight:

More than anything success is about the people with whom you surround yourself. Think teamwork, common purpose, selflessness, and servant leadership.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.